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Donald Trump Jr. delivered a blunt post-mortem on the 2026 midterm wipeout, explaining why millions of independents and former Trump voters swung toward Democrats despite record-low poverty rates, plunging violent crime, and a secure border. The decisive factor, he said, was the Iran War’s immediate hit to Americans’ wallets at the gas pump.
Trump Jr. noted that the Trump coalition is built from millions of disaffected former Democrats and first-time or infrequent voters who “think for themselves” rather than locking into party labels.
He pointed to charts circulating on X showing presidential approval tracking almost identically with the price of gas.
Trump Jr.: “Why did so many independents and even previous Trump voters decide to vote for them anyway?
“Well, for one, remember, the Trump coalition is made up of millions of disaffected Democrats, right? They’re former Democrats, people who never voted before or voted pretty reliably Democrat that felt left behind.
“You know, those aren’t, you know, voters that are just loyal to an R or a D that’s, you know, beside someone’s name. These are people that, you know, think for themselves.
“The wins of this administration have been substantial, with, you know, record-low poverty rate, record-low violent crime, a secure border. Those are all big deals.
“But there are ultimately downstream effects of things like the Iran war that pushed voters in a different direction. Perhaps they felt them a little bit more than they did safety. Totally understandable.
“And according to a chart going around on X, the approval number graph was basically identical to the price of gas. Okay?
“I’ve seen a few talking heads, guys like, you know, Mark Thiessen, out there trying to claim that the Iran war had nothing to do with Republicans losing, right? There’s no downside to the Iran war. Disgusting, actually.
“And, you know, whether you think it was the right decision or not, the Iran war is largely what shifted voter sentiment and caused this wave, right? It jacked up the price of gas. That’s the thing that people feel most immediately in their pockets, and it changed their minds.
“We also campaigned on not getting into these things, and we don’t have to debate whether it was the right thing or the wrong thing. I don’t have any of the details. I’m not privy to any of that in terms of the intelligence.
“But it was definitely something, after Afghanistan and Iraq, that we probably didn’t want to be into, even though I don’t believe this is going to be one of those forever wars.”
WATCH:
Don Jr Says the Iran War Largely Caused the Republican Losses in the Midterms
“Whether you think it was the right decision or not, the Iran war is largely what shifted voter sentiment and caused this wave. It jacked up the price of gas … and it it changed their minds. We also campaigned on not getting into these things.”
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) November 5, 2026
The post Donald Trump Jr. Claims Iran War is the Real Reason Independents and Previous Trump Voters Abandoned Republicans appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
